In this article we are going to try and help you remove Popunderclick. Our instructions cover all Windows versions as well as most browsers – Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer etc.

Popunderclick “virus” as many users like to call it is actually not a virus. Popunderclick belongs to a class of programs known as browser redirects and it is fully understandable if it’s driving you up the wall by now. Assuming you’re on this page due to a recent infection with this particular piece of programming, below you will find a removal guide, which will help you effectively deal with the issue at hand. browser redirect is a common nuisance on the internet and most users have encountered it at least once within their experience with the worldwide web. This is true because of the sneaky tactics developers apply in order to get you to download their product and unless you have had prior knowledge about these tactics or have had first-hand experience with them, there’s no way you could even suspect their existence. The following article is designed to give you enough information about Popunderclick as you need in order to make an adequate decision regarding keeping or removing it from your system, and potentially protecting yourself from it in the future. Let’s begin.

Popunderclick: purpose, risks, distribution

Like more or less any browser redirect representative, Popunderclick strives to create as many pop-ups, banners, box messages and other promotional materials with bright and colorful advertisements. This is the reason why most people get very frustrated with these kinds of programs – the ads are simply everywhere. You can hardly navigate your favorite pages without accidentally landing on one of the numerous annoying adverts and wasting precious time on closing new tabs and windows you are automatically redirected to as a result. However the placement of these ads is by no means an accident and not at all as random as you might think. They are put there, because the developers want you to click on them, because each click generates a profit. Only there are a couple of nuances to this popular money-making strategy, which is commonly known under the name of the Pay per click method. Here they are:

They monitor your browsing. Yup, browser redirect is well known for gathering the information related to your browsing activities including your most visited websites, the things you search for online and potentially even personal details that you may have put in on a non-encrypted page. In addition to this (as if it weren’t enough already), this information could later be sold to third parties, which very much increases the risk of data misuse, as you have no idea who these third parties can be and what their intentions are.

The ads could be fake. Because the developers are fanatically obsessed with adjusting their ads to your liking (hence all the data they gather on you), it’s not possible to find products and services that match absolutely everyone’s taste and preferences. Therefore, some ads might not be accurately representing the page they will redirect you to upon clicking. In some very rare cases, you could even end up being sent to malicious websites with threats like Trojans and ransomware just waiting for someone like you to come along. We highly recommend that you avoid interacting with any of the featured ads as much as possible, because there’s no telling whether the ad you’re looking at is legit or not.

Though the above might sound shocking and unsettling, we should stress that Popunderclick and other browser redirect programs are not viruses. In fact, they’re pretty far from it, as unlike the malicious programs mentioned above, browser redirect has no plan on damaging your system or robbing you of your money and/or precious information.

As far as distribution goes, this is typically executed through program bundling. When you download free software off of the internet, be it from some sharing site, a torrent webpage or other similar open-source download platforms, it is often accompanied with one or several additional programs. Whether those added components get installed or not is up to you entirely, so pay attention to the installation wizard. Choose the custom/advance setup in the beginning so that you can see the additional programs, which will likely contain Popunderclick or similar. You will then also be able to untick the boxes opposite the software you think you can go without and will thus have prevented it from ever becoming a part of your system. In addition to this it’s always wise to run virus scans on a regular basis and preferably also have a browser extension of your antivirus program, in order to block potentially unwanted software, ads and risky content.

Popunderclick Removal from Chrome/Firefox

Many types of malware will restrict your access to their core files. It is highly recommended that you reboot your PC in safe mode before attempting to use this guide.

WARNING! If you are using Windows 8,0 or later and/or your operating system is installed on a fast SSD drive this may fail to work. In this case click here to see how to start your PC in Safe Mode.

#1: Uninstall the malicious program from your control panel

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Enter control panel to look for any suspicious programs, which may have installed on your PC. To do that:

Navigate to your Desktop

Press simultaneously the Win button together with the R button (Win+R)

In the Run window that just opened type appwiz.cpl

Go through the list of programs and find Popunderclick or anything else that may seem suspicious. Right-click on it and choose the uninstallation option

WARNING! Carefully read any confirmation messages that may be created in the process. Sometimes you may get offers to download more browser redirect applications and this can be linked to either the Yes or the No answer depending on the wording!

Optional:

Go through the list of programs again and check online for any potentially unwanted programs. We have an article that covers this awesome free software that makes sure that your computer is free from bloatware and programs that you don’t need.

#2: Remove Popunderclick From Chrome

Now we’ll remove the extensions that the malware has attached to your browser.

Open your Google Chrome browser.

Type chrome://extensions/ in the URL address bar and press Enter.

Click on “Developer Mode” on the top right and look for the extension installed by Popunderclick and anything that might be related to it. Copy their IDs (the string of letters), then remove them by clicking on the trash bin icon.

Type Regedit in the Windows Start Menu and press Enter. Go in : HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Google\Chrome\Extensions and delete the entries corresponding to the suspicious IDs you recorded.

#3: Remove Popunderclick From Firefox

Open Mozilla Firefox browser.

Type “about:support” in the URL address bar and press Enter.

Click on the “Refresh Firefox” button on the right and confirm.

#4 Remove Popunderclick From Internet Explorer

Open your Internet Explorer internet browser.

Click on the Gear icon on the up right, then on manage add-ons.

Go through the list disable any suspicious extensions.

#5 Remove any leftover parasitic processes

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From the task manager:

Use Ctrl + Shift + Esc and open the Task manager, then click on the Processes

Go through the list of processes and look for unknown or otherwise suspicious entries.

If you see anything suspicious right click on the process and shoes Open File Location, then terminate the process and delete any files you find in the directory.

WARNING! If the directory you open from this menu has no files inside of it it’s probably because the malware has hidden them. You need to reveal hidden files and folders in order to be able to see them. Click here if you don’t know how to do that.

From the start menu:

Press simultaneously the Win button together with the R button (Win+R)

In the Run window that just opened type msconfig

Click on the Startup tab.

This menu controls which programs are loaded when windows starts after a reboot. Disable anything that seems suspicious. Optionally you can also disable any program that you don’t need and also has a high impact on your startup time.

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